Current sensor devices and methods

ABSTRACT

Devices and methods associated with current measurements are provided. A current in a conductor portion may be measured by a current sensing element. An output signal indicative of the current may be generated based on the measured current and information regarding a current path.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to current sensor devices and tocorresponding methods.

BACKGROUND

Current sensors are used in various applications to measure an electriccurrent flowing through a conductor, for example a metal conductor orother type of conductor. Various types of current sensors are commonlyemployed in various applications. A first type of current sensorcomprises magnetic current sensors, which measure a magnetic fieldgenerated by an electric current. Such a measurement does not need agalvanic coupling of a sensor circuit and the measured current. Magneticcurrent sensors may be coreless magnetic current sensors, where amagnetic flux generated by the current is not guided by permeablemagnetic parts such as a soft magnetic transformer core, or magneticcurrent sensors with a core, where the current flows through a conductorwhich is enclosed by a magnetic core with a high permeability.

A second type of current sensors comprises shunt current sensors, wherea voltage drop across a portion of a conductor, for example a portionwith a defined resistance, is measured when current flows through it.Such a measurement often requires a galvanic coupling of sensor circuitand measured current.

With both of the aboves types, a conductor portion where the current ismeasured may be integrated with the sensor or external to the sensor(for example a wire passing through a ring core).

Current sensors, in particular conductor portions thereof through whichthe current to be measured flows, have been increasingly miniaturized inrecent years. For example, a miniaturization of the conductor portionalong a direction of current flow in some cases may serve to reducepower dissipation and generation of heat by the dissipated power.However, such a miniaturization may lead to inaccuracies or measurementerrors, as a geometry of the surroundings of the current sensor and inparticular a contact geometry may affect the measurement to a greaterextent than for larger current sensors. This in particular applies tocurrent sensors where the conductor is integrated with the currentsensor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a current sensor device accordingto an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration and environment of acurrent sensor device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a current sensor device according to an embodiment.

FIGS. 5A-5C show various schematic perspective views of a current sensordevice according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a current sensor deviceaccording to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following, various embodiments will be described in detail withreference to the attached drawings. It is to be noted that theseembodiments serve illustrative purposes only and are not to be construedas limiting. For example, while embodiments are described comprising aplurality of different details, features or elements, in otherembodiments some of these details, features or elements may be omitted,may be implemented in a different manner than shown, and/or may bereplaced by alternative details, features or elements. Additionally oralternatively, in other embodiments additional details, features orelements not explicitly described herein may be present. Connections orcouplings, for example electrical connections or couplings shown in thedrawings or described herein may be direct connections or indirectconnections, indirect connections being connections with one or moreadditional intervening elements, as long as the general function of therespective coupling or connection, for example to transmit a certainkind of information in form of a signal, is maintained. Furthermore,connections or couplings may be implemented as wire-based connections orwireless connections unless specifically noted otherwise.

Furthermore, details, features or elements from different embodimentsdescribed herein or shown in the drawings may be combined to formfurther embodiments unless specifically noted otherwise.

In some embodiments, a current sensor device is provided. The currentsensor device may comprise a current sensing element to sense a currentthrough a conductor portion, for example a magnetic current sensingelement or a shunt-based current sensing element. Furthermore, thecurrent sensor device is adapted to obtain information regarding acurrent path the current takes, e.g. a path outside a conductor portionwhere the current is sensed, for example information indicative of adirection of the current. “Outside” the conductor portion may refer toone or more further conductor portions outside a housing including theconductor portion and the current sensing element, may refer to one ormore further conductor portions having a greater diameter than theconductor portion, may refer to one or more further conductor portionshaving a greater distance from the current sensing element than theconductor portion, and/or may refer to one or more further conductorportions outside contact points like solder spots delimiting theconductor portion. In some embodiments, the conductor portion may bemade of one piece, for example a structured metal piece. An outputsignal of the current sensor device is generated based on a measurementof the current sensing element and on the current path information. Forexample, the current path information may determine a calibration factoror other calibration or correction parameter applied to a measurementoutput of the current sensing element.

In some embodiments, the current path information may for examplecomprise a direction of a current flow. The current path information maybe received from an external element like a controller, or may beobtained within the current sensor device, for example based on apreliminary current measurement.

In other embodiments, other features may be provided. In still otherembodiments, corresponding methods may be provided.

Turning now to the Figures, in FIG. 1 a schematic block diagramillustrating a current sensor device 10 according to an embodiment isillustrated. While current sensor device 10 is depicted as comprisingfour separate blocks, this is merely for illustrating various functionsperformed within current sensor device 10 and is not to be construed asindicating that the separate blocks have to be implemented as physicallyseparate portions or devices, but merely indicates that the respectivefunctionalities are provided in the embodiment of FIG. 1. Generally, thefunctionalities described with respect to current sensor device 10 maybe implemented in hardware, software, firmware or combinations thereof,to give some examples.

Current sensor device 10 comprises a current sensing element 12 adaptedto sense a current I flowing in a conductor portion 11. Current sensingelement 12 may for example comprise a magnetic sensor element like aHall sensor element or a magnetoresistive element, for example amagnetoresistive element based on a giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effector a tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) effect. In other embodiments,current sensing element 12 may be a shunt-based current sensing elementmeasuring a voltage drop over conductor 11 or part thereof, for examplea part with a defined resistance. Moreover, as indicated by 14 currentsensor device 10 receives a current path information, i.e. aninformation regarding a way the current to be measured is flowing.

For example, the current path information may comprise informationregarding the direction of current flow, as indicated by an arrow 16 inFIG. 1. In other embodiments, the current path information may comprisean estimated or roughly measured magnitude of the current. In yet otherembodiments, additionally or alternatively the current path informationmay comprise information regarding a direction from which the currententers conductor portion 11 and/or in which the current leaves conductorportion 11. Other kinds of current path information may also beprovided.

The current path information in some embodiments may be obtained bycurrent sensor device 10 internally. For example, prior to performingactual measurements, a preliminary measurement of the current may beperformed by current sensing element 12. Based on this preliminarymeasurement, for example a direction (also referred to as polarity) ofcurrent I may be obtained. Furthermore, an approximation of themagnitude of current I may be obtained by the preliminary measurement insome embodiments. In other embodiments, additionally or alternativelycurrent path information 14 may be obtained by an external source, forexample a controller 15. Controller 15 may for example control switchesdirecting current paths through conductor portion 11. A state of suchswitches may for example determine a direction of the current flow. Insuch a case, corresponding information may be provided by controller 15to current sensor device 10.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, an correction circuit 13 then generates anoutput signal o indicative of the magnitude of current I based on ameasurement output of current sensing element 12 and on the current pathinformation. For example, in some embodiments depending on the currentpath information different calibration factors may be applied to ameasurement signal from current sensing element 12 to form output signalo. In other embodiments, for example based on the current pathinformation different bias voltages or bias currents may be applied tocurrent sensing element 12 to take the current path information intoaccount. In other embodiments, instead of a calibration factor, whichmay be close to 1, a correction value which may be small compared withthe current to be measured may be added to or subtracted from themeasurement signal from current sensing element 12. Such a correction orcalibration may be implemented in different ways, for example by analogelectronic means, by time continuous or time discrete techniques likeswitched capacitors or by digital techniques or combinations thereof. Insome embodiments, a lookup table stored e.g. in current sensor device10, e.g. in a memory 17 thereof, may be used, where for exampledepending on a polarity of the current I and possibly also on anapproximate magnitude of the current to be measured a calibration valueis read out of a stored table.

It should be noted that conductor portion 11 or part thereof wherecurrent sensing element 12 measures the current may be part of thecurrent sensor device 10 itself in some embodiments, and therepresentation in FIG. 1 where conductor portion 11 is on a side ofcurrent sensor device 10 is only for ease of representation.

As mentioned above, in some embodiments the current path information mayalso comprise information regarding a magnitude of the current. In someembodiments, such an estimate or approximate measurement of themagnitude may indicate a current path. For example, in some embodimentsa small current may be delivered only via a single transistor acting forexample as a switch, whereas large currents may be delivered by aparallel connection of several transistors. In embodiments, suchtransistors may have a non-negligible size and may be positioned side byside for example on a cooling plate like a direct copper bond board. Insuch a case for example small currents may be carried by a transistorwhich is close to current sensing element 12, whereas at larger currentportions of that currents are also carried by more distant transistors.In such a case, correction circuit 13 of current sensor device 10 mayfor example multiply a smaller current by a larger factor, for example1.03, whereas larger currents in the same direction may be multiplied bya smaller factor, for example 1.01. These values and relations serveonly explanatory purposes and my be different in other embodiments. Inpractice they may depend on an arrangement and size of elements of therespective embodiment(such as conductor traces and power transistorsused to carry the current) as well as on their physical properties (e.g.their on-resistance) and/or also on a thermal and transient behavior ofthe embodiment. The values and relations can for example be determinedexperimentally.

Generally, such embodiments use that in particular for small currentsensor devices and/or small current sensing elements the current sensedmay depend on the current path, for example due to inhomogeneous fielddistributions at the current sensing element. The influence of thecurrent path is difficult to calibrate in advance. For example, asexplained current sensing element 12 measures the current flowingthrough conductor portion 16. Conventionally, during or at an end ofmanufacturing device 10 device 10 is calibrated by means of conductorportion 11 or a test conductor simulation conductor portion 11. Indevices where conductor portion 11 is part of device 10 and is contactedlater when incorporating device 10 in an application, for calibrationfor example test tips or contact sockets (or other releasable contactmeans) may be used for contacting device 10 in order to apply a testcurrent to conductor portion 11. Therefore, during such a calibrationcontacting of device 10 differs from the contacting in the laterapplication, and such a calibration may only take into account astandardized test environment, but not the real environment where device10 is used later. The real environment, i.e. conduction paths to andfrom conductor portion 11 in the actual implementation, influence thefield distribution and therefore the measurement results. This influenceof the environment in embodiments increases with decreasing length andincreasing diameter or width of conductor portion 11, as then disturbinginfluences from the environment may be closer to conductor portion 11 inembodiments. On the other hand, it is desirable to decrease the lengthand increase the width or diameter of conductor portion 11 to decreaseohmic resistance and therefore heat dissipation. By using the correctionby correction circuit 13 as explained above, in embodiments theinfluence of the environment may be at least partially compensated, andconductor portions having decreased length and/or increased width ordiameter may be used compared to conventional solutions while stillmaintaining a required accuracy of a current sensing.

In FIG. 2, a flowchart illustrating a method according to an embodimentis shown. While the method will be described as a series of acts orevents, it should be noted that the order in which the acts or eventsare described is not to be construed as limiting. In particular, inother embodiments other orders than the one shown and described may beused, and/or acts or events described may be performed parallel to eachother, for example by different circuit paths of a circuit.

At 20, the method of FIG. 2 comprises obtaining information about acurrent path of a current to be measured. The information may forexample comprise a direction of the current and/or an estimate of amagnitude of the current. In some embodiments, the current pathinformation may be obtained by a source external to a current sensordevice, for example controller 15 of FIG. 1. In other embodiments,obtaining the current path information may be performed within a currentsensor device. For example, obtaining the current path information maycomprise performing a preliminary current measurement, for example toobtain a polarity of the current to be measured and/or an estimate ofthe magnitude of the current.

At 21, the method comprises measuring the current, for example using ashunt-based current sensing element or a magnetic field based currentsensing element.

At 22, the method comprises generating an output indicative of thecurrent measured based on the current path information and the measuredcurrent. For example, in embodiments the current measured at 21 may bemultiplied with a calibration factor depending on the current pathinformation, or a correction value based on the current path informationmay be added to the measured current. Generally, the generation of theoutput may for example be performed as already discussed with referenceto FIG. 1 above.

The method of FIG. 2 may be implemented using the current sensor deviceof FIG. 1, but may also be implemented using other devices.Modifications, variants and details applicable to current sensor device10 in FIG. 1 may also be applicable to the method of FIG. 2 and viceversa.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 3-6 various implementation possibilitiesfor current sensing elements usable in current sensor devices ofembodiments as well as illustrative environments where current sensordevices according to embodiments may be used will be illustrated withreference to FIGS. 3-6.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3, a shunt current sensor device 312 is usedarranged between two current contacts 33, 34 to sense a voltage betweencontacts 33, 34. Between contacts 33, 34 the current may flow via arestricted passage 313, which in the embodiment of FIG. 3 is arrangedbelow current sensor device 312. Shunt current sensor device 312 maygenerally be implemented as discussed with reference to FIG. 1. Shuntcurrent sensor device 312 in the example of FIG. 3 is arranged to sensea current flowing to or from a load 37, which is coupled between currentsensor device 312 and a load ground 38. 35 denotes sense inputs ofcurrent sensor device 312. Elements denoted 39, for example load ground38 or ground terminal of the half-bridge 311, may be so-called currenttraces on a printed circuit board (PCB) or some other kind of componentboard which holds the current sensor and/or power transistors andinterconnect lines between them. The component board in embodiments mayalso serve the purpose of delivering dissipated heat, as it is forexample the case in direct copper bond (DCB) substrates or insulatedmetal substrates (IMS).

The arrangement of FIG. 3 corresponds to a half-bridge configuration,where current may flow to load 37 via restricted passage 313 from apositive supply terminal 30 of the half-bridge configuration asindicated by an arrow 32. Current from positive supply terminal 30 toload 37 is switched via a number of high-side power transistors 31 inthe embodiment of FIG. 3, three high-side power transistors 31 beingshown in the Figure. However, any suitable number of power transistorsmay be used.

Current flowing from load 37 to restricted portion may ultimately flowto a ground terminal 311 of the half-bridge via one or more low-sidepower transistors 310, two of which are shown as an example. Asindicated by an arrow 314, the current path in this direction differsfrom the current path indicated by arrow 32. Therefore, depending onswitching states of power transistors 31 and power transistors 310, thecurrent path differs, and the polarity differs. Therefore, in FIG. 3 thecurrent may flow in different branches depending on a polarity, asillustrated by arrows 32, 314 in FIG. 3. Such different current pathsmay lead to different responses in a current-sensing element of currentsensor device 12, i.e. different voltage drops between current contacts33, 34, even if the magnitude of the current is the same. With theabove-explained corrections depending on current path information, forexample depending on a polarity, such differences may be taken intoaccount in embodiments to improve the accuracy of the measurement.

High-side switches 31 and low-side switches 310 may for example becontrolled by a controller like controller 15 of FIG. 1, and such acontroller may then provide information regarding the current path (forexample low-side or high-side) to a current sensor device.

Similar situations with different current paths may for example occur ifa load is split in two parts, where one conducts currents in a firstdirection and the other conducts currents in an opposite direction, forexample positive and negative currents. Such situations may for exampleoccur if the load is a rectifier converting an alternating current orvoltage into a direct current or voltage: In this case diodes ortransistors connect a positive voltage to a positive terminal of acapacitor bank while other diodes or transistors connect a negativevoltage to a negative terminal of a capacitor bank in some embodiments.Also in such a case, an output current flows through different pathsdepending on polarity.

The environment of FIG. 3 is an example where a geometry of externalcurrent connections like current rails connected to the current sensordevice may influence the output of the current sensor, in particular forminiaturized current sensors with small dimensions and/or smallrestricted passages. In case of shunt-based current sensors like currentsensor device 312, different current paths as shown may influence apotential distribution inside the shunt. In case of magnetic fieldsensors, also the current flowing through current paths external to thecurrent sensor device generate magnetic fields, which in particular forsmall current sensor devices may significantly influence themeasurement, as for smaller sensor devices these external current pathsmay be closer to a location where the sensing is performed.

Generally, in conventional solutions often a sensor is only calibratedwith respect to the “internal” conductor, i.e. a conductor portion usedfor sensing which may be part of the current sensor device itself Inembodiments, with the techniques described above also an influence ofdifferent external current paths, for example current paths not beingarranged along a single line as shown in FIG. 3, may be taken intoaccount.

In FIG. 4, a plan view of a shunt element based current sensor device410 according to an embodiment is shown, wherein 420′, 422′ correspondto current contacts, and bond wires 420 and 422 are current sense inputsupplying a voltage potential to a current sensor device 410. 444, 446and 448 are further terminals of current sensor device 410 like supplyvoltage terminals or output terminals which are coupled to device 410via bond wires 450, 452 and 454, respectively. 46 and 461 may be partsof a lead frame which are stamped off during manufacturing and notpresent in the final product. In the implementation example of FIG. 4, aportion 400 of a lead frame has areas 400A, 400, 400C and two attachmentareas 404, 405 with respective attachments holes 404′, 405′ with whichthe current sensor device of FIG. 4 may be mounted to an apparatus whereit is to be used. While not explicitly shown in FIG. 4, area 400 mayhave a restricted portion below current sensor device 410, similar towhat is shown in FIG. 3. Current sensor device 410, which may beimplemented as illustrated in FIG. 1, may be mounted to portion 400 withan electrically insulating adhesive. 462 denotes separation areas wherelead frame portions 461, 46 may be separated from the remainingstructure. The area surrounded by a box 430 may be encapsulated in ahousing in some embodiments, including a part of portion 400, i.e. apart of the conductor.

The implementation of a current sensor together with lead frame elementsshown in FIG. 4 is to be taken merely as an example, and otherimplementations may also be used. Furthermore, as already indicatedinstead of shunt-based current sensing elements also magnetic currentsensing elements may be used, for example also in an environment asillustrated in FIG. 3.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 example for magnetic currentsensor devices will be discussed.

FIGS. 5A-5C show various perspective views of a magnetic current sensordevice according to embodiments. FIGS. 5A-5C essentially show half of amagnetic current sensor, the other half would be mirror-symmetric withrespect to a plane which for example corresponds to the plane where theelements 52, 53, 54 are visible in FIG. 5A.

FIG. 5A shows components 51-54 enclosed in a mold 50, while FIGS. 5B and5C show perspective views without mold 50.

51 denotes a conductor, for example a lead frame or other kind ofconductor, which has a constriction 51A serving as magnetic fieldgeneration portion, e.g. a conductor portion where a magnetic field tobe sensed is generated. Providing the constriction may e.g. increase acurrent density. On conductor 51 in the embodiment of FIGS. 5A-5C astructured glass platelet 53 is mounted using an adhesive 52. On glassplatelet 53, which for example provides electrical isolation, a silicondie 54 with components formed therein for implementing a current sensordevice, for example the current sensor device illustrated with respectto FIG. 1, is provided. For example, functionalities for correcting asensed current based on information regarding a current path may beimplemented by corresponding circuitry in semiconductor die 54. Currentsensing elements, for example magnetoresistive elements or Hallelements, may be formed in or on silicon die 54, e.g. on one or bothsides of constriction 51A in case of Hall elements or directly aboveconstriction 51A in case of magnetoresistive elements. Otherimplementations of current sensors and current sensing elements may alsobe used.

In FIG. 6, a cross-sectional view of a current sensor device accordingto an embodiment is shown. The current sensor device of FIG. 6 issomewhat similar to the current sensor device of FIG. 5 and may be anexample for a cross-section thereof 61 denotes a conductor, likeconductor 51 of FIGS. 5A-5C or any other conductor or conductiveelement. 62 in the embodiment of FIG. 6 is a structured glass platelet,similar to glass platelet 53 of FIG. 5, which is mounted to conductor 61via an adhesive 64. It should be noted that glass platelet 62 or 53 isjust one example of a galvanic isolation between a sensor chip and aconductor and numerous other kinds of isolation platelets (e.g. made ofceramic or cellulose), coatings (e.g. imides), layers (e.g. oxides ornitrides), foils (e.g. Kapton) could be used. Moreover the means forgalvanic isolation may also be absent without significant effect in someembodiments. Furthermore, a semiconductor chip die 63 is mounted tostructured glass platelet 62 using e.g. an adhesive 65. Semiconductorchip die 63 may for example implement functions as discussed above withreference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Furthermore, magnetic sensor elements likeHall sensors or magnetoresistive sensors may be formed in or onsemiconductor chip die 63. Semiconductor chip die 63 is coupled to oneor more terminals 66 via one or more bond wires 67. Terminals 66 may forexample serve as output terminals for outputting a signal correspondingto the measured current, as supply terminals or as terminals to receivecurrent path information as explained above. 68 designates a moldcompound, like mold 50 of FIG. 5. Other implementations of magneticfield sensing based current sensor devices may also be used. It shouldbe noted that while current sensors having an internal conductor formedassociated therewith have been discussed above with respect to FIGS.3-6, also current sensor devices without an own conductor, which may forexample be mounted to a conductor, may be used in embodiments. A currentpath length through such an internal conductor may be 15 mm or less insome embodiments, although other values may be used as well.

Calibration factors, corrective values or similar values as mentionedabove may be stored in a table. In some embodiments, such values may beprogrammable, for example to be stored in an erasable memory like anEEPROM memory, such that the calibration factors or correction valuesmay be calibrated and determined for a sensor depending on itsenvironment, for example by applying known test currents. Generally,embodiments of current sensor devices may be applicable in situationswhere currents may take different paths, which may be indicated bydifferent polarities, different magnitudes or other properties of thecurrents which may be determined within the magnetic field sensordevice, or information regarding the current path may be suppliedexternally, as explained above.

A correction applied to the measured signal as mentioned above mayadjust the measured current for example by not more than 10% or not morethan 5%. Current sensor devices according to embodiments may for examplebe adapted to measure currents of up to 20 A or more, although othervalues may also be used.

It is to be emphasized again that the above embodiments serve merely asexamples, and techniques and concepts described herein may also beimplemented in other manners than explicitly described, as evident topersons skilled in the art.

Various embodiments of systems, devices and methods have been describedherein. These embodiments are given only by way of example and are notintended to limit the scope of the invention. It should be appreciated,moreover, that the various features of the embodiments that have beendescribed may be combined in various ways to produce numerous additionalembodiments. Moreover, while various materials, dimensions, shapes,configurations and locations, etc. have been described for use withdisclosed embodiments, others besides those disclosed may be utilizedwithout exceeding the scope of embodiments.

Persons of ordinary skill in the relevant arts will recognize thatembodiments may comprise fewer features than illustrated in anyindividual embodiment described above. The embodiments described hereinare not meant to be an exhaustive presentation of the ways in which thevarious features may be combined. Accordingly, the embodiments are notmutually exclusive combinations of features; rather, embodiments cancomprise a combination of different individual features selected fromdifferent individual embodiments, as understood by persons of ordinaryskill in the art. Moreover, elements described with respect to oneembodiment can be implemented in other embodiments even when notdescribed in such embodiments unless otherwise noted. Although adependent claim may refer in the claims to a specific combination withone or more other claims, other embodiments can also include acombination of the dependent claim with the subject matter of each otherdependent claim or a combination of one or more features with otherdependent or independent claims. Such combinations are proposed hereinunless it is stated that a specific combination is not intended.Furthermore, it is intended also to include features of a claim in anyother independent claim even if this claim is not directly madedependent to the independent claim.

For purposes of interpreting the claims, it is expressly intended thatthe provisions of Section 112, sixth paragraph of 35 U.S.C. are not tobe invoked unless the specific terms “means for” or “step for” arerecited in a claim.

What is claimed is:
 1. A current sensor device, comprising: a currentsensing element adapted to sense a current in a conductor portion, andan output circuit adapted to output a signal indicative of the currentin the conductor portion based on an output of the current sensingelement and information regarding a current path outside of theconductor portion, wherein the output circuit is adapted to correct anoutput value of the current sensing element based on the informationregarding the current path.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein theinformation regarding a current path comprises information regarding thepolarity of the current.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein theinformation regarding the current path comprises information indicatingan approximate magnitude of the current.
 4. The current sensor device ofclaim 1, wherein the current sensor device comprises a memory to storeinformation regarding an adjustment depending on the information.
 5. Thecurrent sensor device of claim 1, wherein the output circuit is adaptedto obtain the information regarding the current path based on apreliminary sensing of the current by the current sensing element,wherein the preliminary sensing is prior to actual sensing.
 6. Thecurrent sensor device of claim 1, wherein the conductor portion ishoused in a common package with at least one of the current sensingelement or the output circuit.
 7. The current sensor device of claim 1,wherein a length of a current path through the conductor portion is lessthan 50 mm.
 8. The current sensor device of claim 1, wherein the currentsensing element comprises a shunt-based current sensing element.
 9. Thecurrent sensor device of claim 1, wherein the current sensing elementcomprises a magnetic field based current sensing element.
 10. The deviceof claim 1, wherein the device is adapted to measure currents of up toat least 20 A.
 11. A method, comprising: obtaining information regardinga current path, measuring, by a current sensing element, a current in aconductor portion, and generating, by a correction circuit, an outputsignal based on the information regarding the current path and themeasured current, wherein generating the output signal comprisescorrecting the measured current based on the current path informationand a path the current takes outside the conductor portion.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, wherein obtaining the current path informationcomprises performing a preliminary measurement to obtain a polarity ofthe current.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein obtaining the currentpath information comprises performing a preliminary measurement toobtain an approximate magnitude of the current, wherein the preliminarymeasurement is prior to an actual measurement.
 14. The method of claim11, wherein correcting the measured current comprises correcting themeasured current by less than 10% of the measured current.
 15. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising calibrating the correction toaccount for an environment of the conductor portion.
 16. The method ofclaim 11, wherein measuring the current comprises measuring a magneticfield caused by the current.
 17. The method of claim 11, whereinmeasuring the current comprises measuring a voltage drop caused by thecurrent.